


A New Muse

by VeertjeD



Series: Lady Cocotte [1]
Category: Basic Instinct (Movies), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Mænd & høns | Men & Chicken (2015)
Genre: (of an au?), Artists, Cabarets, Dancing, Gen, Hannibal Extended Universe, I feel I went a bit overboard with the chicken refences, Love at First Sight, Singing, Trans Female Character, it's sort of an au of an au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 07:27:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14255940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeertjeD/pseuds/VeertjeD
Summary: Adam is having an artists-block, but then he stumbles upon a new café were he meets the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.





	A New Muse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FlyingRotten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingRotten/gifts).



> The first time I saw a drawing of Flyingrotten's character Lady Cocotte, I was in love~ I started writing this, but stopped for a bit and only just finished it. I started it before Camille extended on her au, so it's not really following her storyline.  
> I tagged the fandoms Basic Instinct and Men & Chicken since these characters sort of developed from the Basic Chicken pairing, if you think it's not really appropriate though, please let me now (kindly).  
> Not beta read, English not as first language.

This was not Adam’s usual place to be. Normally he frequently went to the more fashionable places. The uptown bars were the places where you wanted to be seen to make a name. Adam liked to think he already had a bit of a name as a painter. He had his own little studio and always at least one gallery asking for a piece and to have some extra income he wrote a respectable weekly column in an online art magazine. Now, however, he had hit a creator’s block. A hard one, he hadn’t been able to put anything on paper for a month now. And no new art meant nothing new to sell and no money. That’s why tonight he had been looking for someplace cheaper to buy a drink. 

He had been wandering for a bit when he turned a corner and saw a big building. It was standing a bit apart of the rest of the building and it looked like it had once been important. Now that time had passed however and the thing just looked old. Some of the big windows were transformed into doors so the building housed now several different establishments. Adam’s attention was caught by a chalkboard that was set before the original entrance. On the board was a chicken drawn with its wings widely spread and some music notes. Under it were the opening hours. Adam noticed it hadn’t been open that long, which meant it wouldn’t be too busy probably. He took the stairs and walked into the building. Maybe they would even sell some chicken to eat.

Inside it was dark and a bit stuffy. On the right of the room was a bar with a wide collection of different coloured bottles behind it. In the middle, dividing the bottle cabinets, sat a small window which Adam guessed looked into a kitchen. The barman was standing looking bored with a cigarette between his lips. He was not smoking it, but he looked like he was actually considering going against the rules and lighting it. All through the room were tables and chairs placed. Those managed to be all the same model, the glasses for the candles that stood on every table were all different colours and sizes however. In the back of the room was a staircase, a wide one that led to a gallery on the first floor, typical for a hallway of such an old, big house. Left of the stairs stood a piano and on both sides speakers. A space in front of the stairs was set of with ribbons. 

The first thing Adam noticed however, and how could he not notice, was the smell of fried chicken. The scent of it immediately greeted him when he opened the door. The fried chicken was mixed with the smell of alcohol and Adam instantly wanted to back out again, but then he noticed the many people already sitting in the room despite the early hour. Because Adam had decided to go somewhere else than normal, he had hoped for a calm and quiet night without all those people, however he couldn’t help but be intrigued by all those people. After some yo-yoing, he let his interest win out and he walked to the bar. He ordered a simple beer and something chicken of the menu. Just as he was walking towards a table next to the wall on the far side of the bar people started to clap, stomp their feed and whistle.

Adam settled in with his back to the wall and with a good view on the stairs. He took a sip of his beer and started to cut the meat on his plate, together with some sauce on the side it actually tasted pretty good. Suddenly the lights dimmed and a spot started to shine on the top of the stairs. Soft music started to play and slowly three people walked into the light. The two people on the outside were all dressed in bright yellow, a top without sleeves and a petticoat. On their feet, some beige heels with sparkles and for their hands some short white gloves. On their head, they wore a plumage of a mix of white and yellow feathers. 

It was however the person in the middle that immediately caught Adam’s attention. They looked beautiful. They were bigger than the other two people, but moved the most elegant. Their head was adorned with short wavy greyish hair and a moustache. They wore a white Rockette outfit with a big fan of red feathers on the back. Their gorgeous strong looking legs were wrapped in a dark panty and on their feet some white heels, sparkling of course. On their arms they wore long, white gloves. On their head, the read feathers came back. To finish it up they had some really big golden earrings in. 

The three walked down the stairs at the beat of the music, which was speeding up. When they arrived at the bottom it had turned into a happy, fast tune. An energetic dance routine started with twirls and high kicks. Adam couldn’t take his eyes of the whole performance, one of his chicken pieces had slipped of his fork. The dance ended with the beauty in the middle again. A voice came from somewhere, saying through a microphone; ‘Give a warm applause for Lady Cocotte and her Chicks!’ The room exploded in applause and hollering. ‘Get a drink, grab some food and make yourselves comfortable for the rest of the night. These beauties are not finished with you yet!’ Another up-beat song started and the Chicks started to dance again, while Lady Cocotte disappeared up the stairs. 

Distractedly Adam noticed the fallen piece of chicken and the fact that his food had cooled down. Nevertheless, he pricked the pieces back on his fork and continued to eat his meal. Lady Cocotte, so her name was Lady Cocotte. Or maybe, one day, he could just call her Cocotte? Adam threw his cutlery back on his plate. Okay, that went a bit far didn’t it? He had only seen her dance for a few minutes, it’s not like he knew anything about her. It would be nice though, he mused, to get to know her better. His attention was brought back to the stage when the music abruptly stopped and the two Chicks ended their dance with a pose. Adam clapped politely but peaked up when the two made a grand gesture to the stairs again. 

The music started up again, something slower this time. On the gallery Lady Cocotte appeared. She was again completely in white, in a long, sleeveless dress with something like fur or fluff on the hem. At the top, the dress looked to be held together through a big silver and golden brooch. The red fan of fathers on her back where gone, and the ones on her head replaced by white ones. The gloves and her earrings had stayed the same, but there was some added jewellery. She slowly descended the stairs, with one hand on the handrail, the other holding up her dress. One of the Chicks had put down a microphone on a stand in the middle of the podium. As Lady Cocotte stepped behind it, the two nestled at the bottom of the staircase, finding a comfortable position to listen to her. 

Lady Cocotte lovingly laid her hand on the microphone and opened her mouth. Adam was entranced when she started singing. Her voice was deep and it filled Adam’s entire being. She sang softly which meant that the entire room had to stop to be able to listen. After a while Adam became aware of her accent, maybe something Scandinavian? He was torn between listening without taken his eyes of her, and digging up his pencil and start sketching. In the end he chose for listening, his eyes glued to Lady Cocotte, following her hands that were slowly moving at the rhythm of the music. 

The song ended on a drawn out note that tapered off, the room stayed silent. Lady Cocotte let go of the mike and took a step back. She gave a curtsy and walked in front of the Chicks up the stairs. On the gallery, the three looked back to the audience and curtsied again, longer this time. Lady Cocotte had her hands folded in front of her chest. Only when the performers had disappeared behind the scenes did the room started to clap. The volume slowly became louder until the people started to whistle and stomp again, just like at the beginning of the evening. Adam just applauded, but inside he was brimming with energy. 

The rest of the night passed by like a dream. There were other acts, but Lady Cocotte kept making a regular appearance and Adam just kept ordering drinks to be able to stay. In the end of the night, when everyone was asked to leave Adam was well on his way to completely drunk. He stumbled out of the door and made his way vaguely in the direction of his apartment. For some reason, he felt like crying. He was going to come back when he had the time. Next week, no, not next week. Tomorrow! Yes, tomorrow he would come back and he would bring his sketch book. Adam was suddenly brimming with inspiration again, a beautiful lady at the forefront of his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using 'they' for Cocotte in the beginning, because Adam isn't sure yet and doesn't want to assume. I have not really an idea by The Chicks, so let your fantasies run wild :D


End file.
